the wind changes (to Hufflepuff)
by AlwaysPadfoot
Summary: Daphne is on a quest to find where she truly belongs.


**AN:** Prompts will be displayed at the bottom to avoid them potentially giving away things.

 **AN** : Using book canon only in re to the Hufflepuff CR. Obviously, the house placement is AU.

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 **the wind changes ( to Hufflepuff)**

 **AlwaysPadfoot**

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Daphne still felt sick when they clambered out of the boats.

Had she known she would succumb to seasickness, then she would have had their house-elf pack her a potion to counteract the nausea she was now feeling. Leaning forward, Daphne took a few gulps of air as the group of first years continued to alight the small wooden boats. An unsuitable mode of transport, in her opinion.

Suddenly, someone touched her shoulder, and Daphne looked up into the round, freckled face of Susan Bones.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, of course." Daphne straightened up and forced a smile at her friend. "I'm fine."

Susan beamed. "Excellent. We're almost there; we're almost at Hogwarts. Can you feel the wind in your hair? The smell of success?"

Daphne rolled her eyes. Ever since she'd met the redhead, back when they were just seven years old, Susan had always been an optimist. She had been the confident one — the positive one; the girl who was loud and unladylike. That was why Daphne's mum had insisted they shouldn't associate with one another. But time after time, Daphne had been drawn to Susan at every event they'd both attended, and now they were at Hogwarts together.

"You are too eager," Daphne responded.

Susan stuck her tongue out just as Hagrid called for the group for them to follow him up to the castle.

Daphne tried to stop thinking about the nausea as they trailed behind the giant man. In comparison to Hagrid, all the first years were tiny. They all had to practically jog to keep up with him. A chubby blonde boy behind Daphne was panting as they climbed the staircase to the main entrance to Hogwarts, and even Daphne was starting to get breathless. Susan, however, was powering on — a bounce in every single step.

"Typical Susan," Daphne thought.

Once Hagrid had led them inside, he handed the group of them over to a rather stern-looking woman in robes of dark green. She introduced herself as Professor McGonagall.

She began to introduce the Hogwarts houses, with which Daphne was familiar. It was — besides the seasickness — the thing that was making her feel as though she might throw up in front of everyone. The majority of her family were Slytherins, with the exception of the odd Ravenclaw every couple of generations.

She was neither.

Deep down inside her, Daphne knew she was neither Slytherin nor Ravenclaw. She felt torn between her desire not to be disowned and her craving to feel like she could be herself. She just wanted to feel comfortable — to feel like she actually belonged.

"Trevor!"

Daphne's head snapped to the panting blonde boy from before. He'd rushed forward to scoop a large brown toad from the floor.

Shaking her head, Daphne sighed. "I would never have done that."

"He doesn't care," Susan muttered. "He just wants his toad back."

"I guess."

"You sure that you're okay, Daph?"

Daphne nodded. "Yeah, just a little nervous."

Susan reached out and squeezed Daphne's hand gently. "It's going to be okay. Wherever you get sorted, you'll be brilliant."

Daphne blushed. It was the little nudge of encouragement she needed as Professor McGonagall pushed open the doors of the Great Hall. The crush of first years moved forward in unison and Susan didn't falter in pulling Daphne alongside her.

The enchanted sky of the hall burst into colour above them and they walked down the centre aisle, between the Gryffindor and Ravenclaw tables. Fixated, Daphne stared upwards, allowing herself to be guided by her friend. She thought that having a ceiling like this above you at every meal must be complete and utter bliss.

It was only when the ambient noise of shuffling and murmuring died that Daphne realised they had reached the front of the hall.

In her opinion, she might as well have had a giant arrow above her head labelled 'having a meltdown'. Realising her body was starting to shake, Daphne pulled her hand gently from Susan's and clasped it together with the other nervously.

One by one, Professor McGonagall began to call names out in alphabetical order. That meant that Susan was second.

She gave Daphne a reassuring smile and then squeezed through the crowd to sit on the stool. McGonagall placed the battered and worn hat atop her head and the hall went silent. Five seconds passed and then suddenly the brim of the hat tore apart and screamed: "HUFFLEPUFF."

Applause filled Daphne's ears as she watched her friend join the table under the yellow and black banner of Hufflepuff. As the clapping died down, Susan flashed her a thumbs up, and Daphne smiled in response.

She could do this.

It barely felt like a second had passed when suddenly her name was called.

"Greengrass, Daphne."

Daphne slowly moved up to the stool and sat down. The Sorting Hat slipped over her eyes and suddenly it was as though she was no longer in a hall of hundreds of people.

"Let me see, let me see," a voice said in her ears.

"I want to be with Susan," Daphne thought, her own mind catching her off guard.

"You want to be a Hufflepuff? Intriguing. Very well," the hat began.

"Wait, what? You're just going to put me there because I asked?"

"Of course."

"Where am I supposed to be? Tell me."

"My dear, you belong in Hufflepuff," the hat responded. "Yes, you possess some of the Slytherin traits that your family is famous for — determination, for example. But you have a desire to work hard, to make yourself someone. You have patience that people would kill for. Your sister will sit here in two years time, and you know what I'll see?"

"What?" Daphne asked curiously.

"I'll see you in her head, helping her understand when the words on her page move. I'll see her frustrated, but you keeping your cool and explaining things again and again until she understands." The hat spoke firmly and Daphne felt her chest tighten. "A true Hufflepuff can be relied upon — patient and trustworthy. You definitely belong in such a noble house, alongside your friend. So without further delay, I declare you a HUFFLEPUFF."

The name rang in Daphne's ears as light filled her vision and the Great Hall came back into focus.

She wasn't exactly sure how she felt about the hat knowing the intimate details of her life, but she did feel exhilaration at the greeting of applause she received upon her sorting. Susan pulled her into a tight hug upon her arrival at the table and Daphne felt herself beaming. She could have focused on what her parents might think, but instead, she began to integrate. She ate lamb chops with a herby crust and had two slices of chocolate cake for dessert. She laughed at jokes told by her housemates and smiled whenever Susan did.

By the time they got to the Hufflepuff Common Room, Daphne was exhausted. Accessed by a short ladder, the first years had a smaller Common Room off from the main one. On both sides were curtained-off rooms. Susan's and Daphne's were beside one another, but before they all headed to bed, the new Hufflepuffs slumped into the soft sofas in their sitting area.

Armed with hot chocolate made by one of the prefects, the small group talked until their eyelids drooped. Daphne was sure she'd even fallen asleep on Susan's arm at one point.

Later, safe and sound in bed, Daphne sighed contently. She felt like she finally belonged. Very quickly, exhaustion took over and she fell asleep under sheets of black and yellow.

Sleep would come easily tonight.

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 **Comp/Challenge & Prompts: **

**QLFC Finals, Season 5:** CAPTAIN: Write a story set during Harry Potter's first year (1991–1992 school year)

 **Insane House Challenge:** 943\. Restriction - No Slytherins

 **365 Prompts Challenge:** 345\. Word - Crush

 **Scavenger Hunt** : 14. Use the prompt set: (word) arrow, (word) herb, (item) ladder

 **Coffee Appreciation** : 27. Seville Coffee - Write about relaxing after a hard day

 **Writing Club [Character Appreciation]** : 34. Genre: Friendship

 **Writing Club [Disney Challenge]:** 1\. Song - **Part of your world** \- Write about someone who wants to belong somewhere

 **Writing Club [Showtime]** : 2. Funny Honey - (dialogue) "He doesn't care."

 **Writing Club [CYB]** : 4. (word) encouragement

 **Writing Club [Lyric Alley]:** 8\. Feel the wind in your hair

 **Writing Club [Lizas Loves]** : 7. Lady WiFi - Write about someone wanting the truth

 **Writing Club [Sophie's Shelf]** : 4. bliss, tongue, pant, succumb, intimate, eager

 **Word Count** **:** 1280 — not inc. notes, titles, or ANs.


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